Recap — Ahsoka Episode 8: The Jedi, The Witch, and The Warlord

The season finale is a blast to watch, but where do we go from here?

We open on a special day — Morgan Elsbeth's promotion! The Great Mothers thank her, she who heard their dreams from across the stars. They give her the gift of shadows as recompense, and in a very a cool scene, physically and spiritually transform her with some witchy face markings, much like their own. The Great Mothers conjure up the Blade of Talzin, which is kinda like a witchy lightsaber., and gift it to her.

It was easy as the beginning of the season to think of Elsbeth as a generic baddie, but the more we've seen, the more we've learned that she's in this for the girls. The Nightsisters, that is, and her home planet and culture of Dathomir. She doesn't care about Thrawn, or the Empire, or whatever the hell Baylan is looking for. For the bad guys, everyone is using everyone else in this show. Perhaps that's the banal, transactional nature of evil. It contrasts mightily with the themes of love, devotion, and friendship found with the good guys.

Rebels Back Together 

Ezra is on Ahsoka's ship with Huyang in the workshop, constructing a new lightsaber. They're playfully squabbling, and then Ezra tells him that his master was none other than Kanan Jarrus. Huyang, being the ancient robot that he is, tells Ezra that he knew him back at the Jedi Temple decades before. In fact, Huyang has been holding on to a lightsaber bit that Kanan also used. Cute!!!

Ahsoka is back up top on her ship, her favorite place these days, and Sabine joins her for a heart to heart. She apologizes to her master for not destroying the map, expecting the worst. But our new Ahsoka the White is gracious, and explains how Anakin always stood by her, no matter what. Ahsoka reaffirms her commitment to Sabine for the long haul. It's a touching scene, this unconditional love. 

Their peaceful chat is interrupted by a duo of Thrawn's TIE fighters, who strafe the ship and force it to crash clunkily on Peridia, their plans now definitely delayed. 

Thrawn Is NOT Playing

Because he knows that Anakin was Ahsoka's master, and because he knows how dangerous Ezra is from ahem, personal experience, Thrawn prepares for a ground assault, willing to take no chances with these errant Jedi. Enoch reports that the two TIE fighters accomplished their mission, but lost contact with them. Thrawn recognizes the sacrifice the pilots made, and what could be seen as a throwaway line, says "Mark their captain for a citation." 

This. This is why his troops love him. Hell, this is why I love Thrawn. He's a fair and just leader, and it's no wonder people follow him to the ends of the galaxy. Sure, he's cold, calculating, and stoic. But he knows how to treat people, something you can't ever say about any other member of the Empire. He's humble, too. When Elsbeth says that the volunteer Night Troopers are doing it for him, he says nope, it's for the Empire. 

Storming the Castle

Our Jedi hop on some of the native horse-wolves and make their way to Thrawn. He rains hellfire down upon them with the Star Destroyer's turbolasers, but to no use. They make their way through the gate and start climbing the tower to be met with a sea of storm troopers. 

And here we learn finally Thrawn's great plan. These are no ordinary troops — they're night troopers. Once they fall on the battlefield, the Great Mothers' dark magic reanimates them. They shamble. They groan. And they definitely don't stop.  

That's right. Dave Filoni has blessed us with zombie storm troopers. And in the scene of them being raised from the dead, we get treated with creepy Beetlejuice-sounding atonal string music. It's perfect. 

Witch vs Jedi

Thrawn dispatches Elsbeth to delay the Jedi, and she follows orders. She meets Ahsoka and they engage in maybe the coolest duel of the season. The Sword of Talzin has a satisfying metallic echo-thunk when it makes contact with a light saber. 

Also, I don't know about y'all, but I had no idea Elsbeth could ball so hard. I don't know if it's the new witchy powers or what, but the fight choreo was so incredibly entertaining. Also hell yeah to this episode for showing us another duel between two 40+ year old women!

Sabine and Ezra separate to go after Thrawn's ship, but they get separated as only Ezra can make the 100 foot jump to the destroyer. Sabine stays behind, and goes to help Ahsoka. 

After a few more moments of fantastic dueling, Ahsoka manages to wrest Elsbeth's sword from her and kills her with it. Such a shame to see her go! 

Thrawn Yeets Himself Out of the Galaxy

Despite our heroes' best efforts, Thrawn uses the Eye of Sion to escape back to the galaxy he belongs in. Ezra is a stowaway, however, and manages to disguise himself as a storm trooper. 

Before jumping to hyperspace, Thrawn reaches Ahsoka on comms and congratulates on her a good try. Then, in an incredibly bitchy move, says 'one wonders how similar" she may grow to Anakin, implying she may turn evil. How does he do it?!!? Thrawn knows exactly how to twist the knife. Fortunately, our girl has done force ghost therapy, so she knows that he's just being spiteful. 

Ahsoka and Sabine return to the surface of Peridia after a space chase in vain, and reunite with the Noti. They're going to be here a while, and it looks like this may a perfect time for them to just train. Could be worse, I suppose. 

Master and Apprentice, Separated 

In the last bit, we finally see Shin, briefly. She's been wandering Peridia, unsure of where to go or what to do. She approaches a bandit camp and raises her lightsaber, though it's unclear whether in attack or as a gesture of wanting to join. That's all we get, though, so we'll have to find out next season!

Next we see Baylan, standing on a huge cliff shape not unlike the Argonath from Lord of the Rings. I had to do some research, but what's he standing on is a statue of the Father, a character from Star Wars: The Clone Wars season 3. The father dwelled in the realm of Mortis along with his kids the Son and the Daughter. 

According to this post by Screen Rant, "the Mortis gods were essentially tied to the Force itself, which is likely why Baylan still hears them calling to him. In any case, it could be that they wish for Baylan to find Mortis itself and act as the new keeper of the balance."

Note: I don't know a ton about the Father & Daughter & Son stuff. 

This makes sense, as all season long Baylan has been talking about how the Jedi and the Sith were doomed to keep going back and forth forever. 

Sadly, however, the actor who played Baylan, Ray Stevenson, passed away this year. It's unclear whether he'll be recast or the story will be scrapped. 

Chopper, We're Home

Thrawn and company make it to the proper galaxy, this time approaching the planet Dathomir. We see the cargo hold still full of what appears to be coffins, but I'm not sure what they're full of. Rumors have it that its fallen Nightsisters. 

Ezra manages to escape the star destroyer, and he meets up with the fleet. He has a touching reunion with Chopper and Hera, who basically was like his mom. It's good to see them reunited. 

Back on Peridia, we see the force ghost of Anakin looking down on Ahsoka and Sabine. 

What Now?

Ezra has switched places with Ahsoka and Sabine, and now how are they going to get home? My guess is something with the World Beyond Worlds? I don't think they're going to be able to get the purrgils, or the Eye of Sion. 

But what I also can't stop thinking about is that now there's precedent for Thrawn being in the canon world of Star Wars. So this is how Filoni does it! Yanking him through to the galaxy at roughly the same time as Zahn did in the Legends Universe with Heir to the Empire, around five years post-ROTJ.

Honestly it's brilliant. Ahsoka has set up a new war arc with Thrawn and I'm thrilled to see where it goes. 

The Math

Baseline score: 8

Bonuses: +2 Seeing Thrawn win is a delight, even though he's a bad guy. He's just so damn smart and calculating.

Penalties: -2 How the hell you gonna end a season like this?!

Nerd coefficient: +2 Fantastic finale and will appease hardcore Clone Wars nerds. I'm not nearly nerdy enough to have understood all of the references in this episode.

Gonk droid count: Zero!

POSTED BY: Haley Zapal, NoaF contributor and lawyer-turned-copywriter living in Atlanta, Georgia. A co-host of Hugo-nominated podcast Hugo, Girl!, she posts on Instagram as @cestlahaley. She loves nautical fiction, Vidalia onions, and growing corn and giving them pun names like Anacorn Skywalker. 

Recap — Ahsoka Episode 7: Dreams and Madness

As we barrel toward the season finale next week, things start to get complicated for our heroes.

This week, we open on a rare daytime scene of Coruscant, the capital city of the other galaxy. It's funny, when I picture Coruscant in my head, it's always a vast, sprawling nighttime scene. Probably because in my head, it's the same as New York City, just more sci-fi. 

Hera has been hauled before the Senate committee to atone for her sins of disobeying orders. Mon Mothma is there, and tries her best to be understanding, and Admiral Ackbar is there but remains silent. Senator Xiono, however, is on a witchhunt for Hera, and calls for her court martial. 

This scene harkens back to the EU, as Xiono basically is taking the role of Bothan council member Borsk Fey'lya, who folks loved to hate for his antagonism and political grandstanding. Even though the EU was scrapped almost wholesale, I love that Filoni is managing to sneak in some of its more important themes and characters (cough Thrawn cough).

A Protocol Surprise to Be Sure, but a Welcome One

All of a sudden, there's a disruption in the courtroom, and we hear Leia's theme begin softly playing. Accompanying this leitmotif is an appearance of none other than our boy C-3PO. It's funny, the Anakin/Hayden Christiansen appearance knocked everyone's socks off, sure, but Threepio absolutely just warmed my heart. 

He barges into the proceedings on behalf of Leia, and of course our favorite princess is here to save Hera's ass. In front of the court, Threepio presents evidence stating that Leia personally authorized Hera's trip to Seatos, and if Xiono has any more beef, to bring it personally to her. 

Afterwards, Mon Mothma lovingly sees through this ruse, but then in a moment of vulnerability asks Hera point-blank how real the Thrawn threat is. She's concerned. 

In a Space Whale's Mouth Far, Far Away

Ahsoka is training with a videotape of Anakin, and it's clear that's she saved this for a very long time. I like this idea of her still honing her Jedi skills, epecially now that's she's come to terms with him and his legacy, and where she falls alongside it. 

We learn that he made more than 20 of these lesson-recordings. With a sharp exhale, Ahsoka admits to Huyang, "He was a good master."

I saw a meme yesterday that was like "Anakin was only 23 when he became Vader. He shouldn't have been a sith! He should have been at the club!" I laughed, but there's a kernel of truth to this sentiment. He was so, so young. Wise behind his years, yes, and a formidable warrior. But he was such a baby in terms of world experiences. 

Arriving to Peridia

Ahsoka drops out of spacewhale hyperspace into an artfully laid trap above the planet — hundreds of space mines. In a very upsetting scene, our beloved purgill are getting attacked left and right. It takes just a few seconds, but the entire pod says "screw this" and jumps back into hyperspace, leaving Ahsoka and Huyang to navigate through the rest of the mines. 

As the emerge unscathed, fighters are launched to track them, and Ahsoka, impersonating her best Han in Empire, heads into the debris field to shake them. She finds a cozy spot and they hide out, buying time to figure out their next move and scan for Sabine.

Thrawn Gets the Surprise of His Life

One of the first things you learn about Thrawn in the Zahn trilogy (and later in Rebels) is that he's a cunning foe because he prides himself on learning as much about an enemy as possibly — background, culture, art, history. 

So while he knew that Ahsoka was a Jedi, when he finds out that Anakin was her master, you can almost see the exact second his jaw hits the floor. Just for a moment though, as he's a consummate tactictian and always, always has that cool blue demeanor. He also takes solace in knowing Anakin — if she's like him, she'll be unpredictable and dangerous.

Noti Caravan Life

Sabine and Ezra are in the Noti caravan, and she's catching him up on the past ten tumultuous year of galactic history. Here again we see Filoni doing the lord's work of trying to insert little plot bits that will help the sequel trilogy make even a slight bit more sense. "So Palpatine died?" Ezra asks. "That's what people say," replies Sabine.

EXCUSE ME. He was thrown down a mineshaft. The second Death Star exploded. Sigh. I guess this means that somehow, he'll return 20 years later. I have to laugh to keep from crying. 

Ezra has missed a lot, but there's so much more that she's not telling him. Good guy that he is, he doesn't press. Meanwhile, I'd be like YOU HAVE A PLAN RIGHT?!?!

The Great Mothers Help Thrawn Once Again

Thrawn's reliance on the Nightsisters and their ability to use the Force and magic is interesting. Not being a Jedi himself, dealing with them has always been his weakness. It's unclear what the Nightsisters are getting from their alliance (besides maybe a free trip back to the other galaxy), but they're definitely devoted to him. 

He asks them to find Ahsoka's location within the spacewhale bone graveyard, and they quickly set to work. I found myself really enjoying their use of magic — it compliments the magic we see with the Force (because that's all the Force really is, isn't it?). 

As Star Wars fans, we can take the Force for granted — lifting rocks, pushing enemies back, hearing voices. So seeing it in a new way underlines how truly remarkable this type of power is. They find her almost instantly, and Thrawn dispatches fighters to track her down.

The Battle Begins

Shin and Baylan have located Ezra and Sabine, overlooking their caravan from a hilltop. In a surprising move that I didn't see coming, Baylan tells Shin to kill them, and then to take her place in Thrawn's coming empire. 

She's blindsided — but Baylan merely tells hers that his path lies separate from hers. He gives her a parting lesson: Impatience for victory will guarantee defeat. 

This bummed me out! I liked their dynamic, and they seemed to care about each other. Also what does Baylan have up his sleeve? I had a feeling he wasn't entirely bad. Maybe that's why he was just using Thrawn and not eager to join the ranks of an evil empire.

A Rebels Battle If Ever There Was One

Shin and her goons race down and attack the caravan, and the battle begins in earnest. Ezra instructs the Noti to circle the hermit crab wagons and they make their stand. Shin confronts Ezra and Sabine, and in a scene straight of Rebels, he comically makes a last minute appeal to distract her before attacking. I'm not sure why this scene took me out of it, it was just a bit corny. It wouldn't have been in a cartoon, but it is in real life. 

Meanwhile, Ahsoka is skimming the planet's surface and spots Baylan. She jumps down and they begin to fight, as well. 

Both of these concurrent battles are fun to watch, but they both end in stalemates. Ahsoka escapes back onto her ship so she can go help Ezra and Sabine. Once there, they run Shin off instead of killing her, which was an interesting choice. (And one I'm glad of, as I like her character.)

This was part of Thrawn's plan. There's no need for him to keep his troops there. Their real mission is nearly complete — loading up the ship and getting ready to leave. 

Another Reunion

Ahsoka is reunited with Ezra, and it's heartwarming. Now what are they going to do?! The only way back to the other galaxy would be via the Eye of Sion. That is, unless the purgill come back, though if I were them, I'd be down with these humans. 

It's clear that the season finale next week is going to be a cliffhanger. I sure hope we get a season 2 — surely we will, right?

__________________________________________________

The Math

Baseline score: 7

Bonuses: +3 Threepio cameo! Ahsoka is back to her sly and sassy self. Some very good fighting.

Penalties: -3 There's a frustrating lack of plot progress despite how much happens in this episode. We're still no closer to knowing what Baylan is doing, or what Thrawn is loading into the ship, or how our heroes are going to get home.

Nerd coefficient: +2 I've decided my new favorite thing is how Sabine uses her beskar armor kind of like how John Wick is always pulling up his bulletproof jacket to cover his face.

Gonk droid count: Zero!

POSTED BY: Haley Zapal, NoaF contributor and lawyer-turned-copywriter living in Atlanta, Georgia. A co-host of Hugo-nominated podcast Hugo, Girl!, she posts on Instagram as @cestlahaley. She loves nautical fiction, Vidalia onions, and growing corn and giving them pun names like Anacorn Skywalker. 

Recap: Mandalorian Episode 23 — Spies

The penultimate episode starts masterfully weaving together all the plot threads from this season and beyond — including ties to the sequel trilogy. 

Also, before this recap begins, I'd like to hold a moment of silence for the Satine Kryze erasure that continues to dominate season 3. 

Let's begin!

We start with a very cyber-punky cold open on the lower streets of Coruscant following Elia Kane — AKA Imperial Amnesty Officer G-68 — as she swaggers in her best Rick Deckard trench coat to meet an Imperial probe droid. She makes contact with Moff Gideon, her old boss, and FINALLY! 100% direct proof she’s a spy (mindflaying aside).

The Galaxy’s Most Evil Zoom Call

It’s important to talk about context again, for folks who may have forgotten. The Mandalorian takes place 9 years ABY (after the battle of Yavin, where the first Death Star was destroyed) or, as my brain makes sense of it, 5 years after the events of Return of the Jedi. After the Empire’s defeat, the New Republic moves in to take over, but there are still lots of systems loyal to the Empire. Roving bands of Imperial Warlords are jockeying for power.

Moff Gideon walks into a room featuring a meeting of the Shadow Council, a collection of these warlords. A LOT happens here — so buckle up. 

They’re discussing how to collaborate and prepare for the return of Grand Admiral Thrawn, who is the firm leadership they definitely need right now. Then, almost in passing, they discuss Project Necromancer. They don’t get into details, but word on the street is that this may have to do with the reappearance of Palpatine in Rise of Skywalker. Or maybe it’s the creation of Snoke — it remains to be seen. Either way, it’s thought that this will tie current Star Wars properties into the lore of the sequel trilogy, which it definitely needs. Dave Filoni is really doin’ the lord’s work on this one. Honestly, anything they come up with will be better than just "Somehow...Palpatine came back."

We also meet Captain Pellaeon in the flesh, and it’s a fantastic portrayal. A fan favorite like his boss Thrawn, he’s another EU legends-turned-canon character. Also present on the council is Brendol Hux — General Armitage Hux’s dad. 

Fun fact: Brian Gleeson plays Brendol, who is the real-life brother of Domhnall Gleeson, who portrayed Armitage in the sequels. You love to see this kind of continuity.

Gideon expresses his concerns about the Mandalorians retaking their home planet, and receives reinforcements from the council— including Chekhov’s Praetorian guards. 

Jets & Sharks: The Mandalorian Campsite

Bo-Katan returns to the Children of the Watch with her fleet and army, and it’s not an instant party. The two clans are wary of each other at first, but a relatively easy detente occurs as the Armorer welcomes them and plans a feast. Bo has a lot of work to do to get these two camps on the same page. 

IG-11 Is Dead. Long Live IG-12!

You may have forgotten that IG-11 was in the process of trying to be restored by the Anzellians. I know I did! But they did their job — kind of. They created a new version that’s essentially a mobile exoskeleton a la Krang’s android body.

IG-12 is to be driven by you guessed it — Grogu, in an adorable scene that gives us a little language from him. He can press a button and exclaim “yes” or “no” in ways that are almost entirely comedic. Man, just thinking about how Grogu can combine extra-human mechanical prowess with Force ability gets me real excited about what’s to come.

Mandalorians Returning to Mandalore

Bo rallies a strike team to begin the first reconnaissance of their home planet as the entire fleet leaves Nevarro. As they search for the Great Forge on the devastated Mandalore, they encounter a roving landship (Locomotion with no electronics or technology! Actual sails and winches and ropes! Seeing this kind of archaic technology in Star Wars is stellar, and I'm 100% here for it.) with surviving Mandalorians, its inhabitants still loyal to Kryze.

She explains how she surrendered after the Night of a Thousand Tears and negotiated a ceasefire with Gideon — but he betrayed her and purged Mandalore, the Darksaber in his possession. 

Many of the survivors are ill, from what I can only assume is scurvy, as they've been at-land for what appears to be a while, and their first question to Bo and company is "Do you have food?"

A Knight in Shining Beskar

We get a touching moment between Bo and Dinn as he finally understands what led to the purge. He reaffirms his belief in her leadership — as well as her loyalty and character. “Your song is not yet written, I will serve you until it is.” Man, what a guy!

Meanwhile, Paz Viszla and Axe Woves are bored and decide to let their egos take the wheel and battle it out on the landship as they speed toward the former capital. Grogu steps in to stop them, his cuteness overpowering their rage. Here, we see the Jedi in him coming out — and not the rigid honor-bound Mandalorian — and honestly, often toxic — behavior he’s been exposed to. He really may turn out to be the best of both worlds. 

Ambush on Mandalore

Our heroes are attacked by a huge dragon creature (but sadly not a mythosaur) and abandon the landship, taking to the ruins of the Great Forge. Then, another ambush — this time by those flying stormtrooper-type soldiers we saw earlier in the season. An epic ground fight ensues, reminiscent of Battlefront sorties. Turns out that Moff Gideon has made this part of Mandalore into his secret Imperial base. 

A VERY Intense Conclusion

As they get surrounded, Din is separated and captured — and we see Gideon appear in his own Mandalorian-type armor. He plans to mine the planet for its beskar to make new, more powerful Darktrooper suits. He also speaks of combining Jedi, cloning, and Mandalorians to create an unstoppable fighting force — which ties together why he wanted Grogu in the first place back in season one. Maybe he wants to make a Jedi clone army? Is that even possible? What type of balance would THAT bring to the force? I have so many questions. 

As Din is carried off, the remaining Mandalorians get to work trying to escape — and our boy Paz Visla makes a final stand so everyone can escape, his machine gun overheating in a molten glow. He takes on three Praetorian guards — the Chekhov's ones mentioned in the opening! — sacrificing himself in the process. Say what you will about The Last Jedi, but the Snoke throne room battle scene with these red boys was absolutely incredible. It's great to see them again.

As is common with a lot of penultimate episodes, it appears everything is all but lost, our heroes in an impossible situation. It'll be interesting to see how much happens in the finale.

Next week, we may not get our long-awaited Thrawn episode, as he's been teased in the recent Ahsoka trailer, but we are inching close towards his appearance, it's going to be a game-changer. 

The Math

Baseline score: 7/10

Bonuses: + 3 Pellaeon! Baby Yoda in a Krang bodysuit! More Anzellian screen time! Incredible battle scenes!

Penalties: - 1 A LOT happens in this episode, but it also flies by. It’s over before you can barely blink.

Nerd coefficient: +4 Effortlessly tying together EU-Legends lore with sequel trilogy plot lines and characters is fantastic.

Gonk droid count: 0. Sadly, not a single gonk droid in this installment.

POSTED BY: Haley Zapal, new NoaF contributor and lawyer-turned-copywriter living in Atlanta, Georgia. A co-host of Hugo-nominated podcast Hugo, Girl!, she posts on Instagram as @cestlahaley. She loves nautical fiction, Vidalia onions, and growing corn and giving them pun names like Anacorn Skywalker.